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How to get into a top Finance or Consulting MBA program as a career shifter

By Ben Feuer, Photo by Susan Solinski

Top MBA programs are getting more competitive every year, and finance and consulting remain two of the most popular destinations for graduates. So what should you do if you are looking to transition into one of these areas from a startup, an engineering role or even a completely unrelated field? It's a long road, but we're here to help!

The first step is to make the problem manageable. Break down your application into its four major components and think about each of them separately.

1. Your stats.
For those looking to enter finance from less quantitatively rigorous fields like marketing, Quant GMAT and demonstrated interest in key topics like Economics, Financial Accounting and Calculus are extremely valuable. For tech nerds and Indian or East Asian applicants, it's equally important to show strong quant verbal and a dedicated interest in writing/literature topics. In either situation, if your candidacy is weak in a core number (GPA, GMAT or GRE), consider taking outside courses or mini-MBA programs to boost your bona fides. Remember, stats show your ability to handle an MBA workload, and you can't get into school without them.

2. Your essays.Career shifters need to start working on their goals essays earl in the process. Why? Because having a clear, concrete goal in mind is an absolute essential when you are looking to make a change. Schools want to see that you have thought your decision through carefully and that you are prepared to make the most of the contacts and education they can provide you with.
Another important reason? You need to be able to tell your recommenders why you want to get an MBA so they can know how to shape your recommendation letters accordingly.

For career shifters, goals should be --

Simple. I want to go from branding to consulting. I want to go from back-room IT to finance. I want to go from trading to buy-side. From A to B.

Specific. You need to cite exactly what role you plan to fill and what firm you plan to do it at. Choose a firm that actually recruits at the school you are applying to, please.

EXAMPLE: Immediately after graduation, I plan to become a management consultant. My preferred firm is Bain, because in my view they are the best at balancing a thoughtful approach to charity work with traditional management consulting, and my background is in non-profits, so I would like to continue doing good even as I do well.

Achievable. Don't say you want to go from a big law assistant right into a venture capital maven -- that's unrealistic and business schools won't want to take a gamble on you. Instead, say that your plan is to start out at a late-stage startup in a development role and then transition to venture capital.

3. Your recommenders.It is very important to prep your recommenders by having an extended conversation about your career plans and why an MBA is a necessary next step. They may not know (or care) about your future field, and therefore they may have no sense of what sorts of skills will be important in it. Your job is to explain that to them (and remind them of times when you demonstrated those qualities), so they can turn around and sell those qualities in your rec letter!

If you are getting a letter of support from a donor or prominent alum, make sure they know your professional plans as well. You don't want to risk putting them in an awkward situation!

4. Your resume.There's an old saying that goes, "Dress for the job you want to have, not the job you currently have". Never is that more true than on an MBA resume as a career shifter, where you are essentially selling yourself to the committee as a someone with great potential in a brand new field. Look at each job on your resume -- are you emphasizing the aspects of your job that relate to what you want to be doing, instead of the ones you happened to do a lot of in the past?

Often for a career shifter resume, the first bullet point under a job description will be something you did once, or maybe a couple of times, while your day to day responsibilites will be downplayed. That's because you're showing potential, not accomplishment, on this resume.

As always, don't underestimate the power of volunteering and school extracurriculars to boost your achievements and overall 'wow' factor.

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Career shifting isn't easy under any circumstances, but having a degree from Wharton or MIT in your pocket certainly can make it a smoother ride. Give yourself the best chance of getting into your top choice program by following these tips -- and if you want to know more, drop us a line!